Ideas for Making the Living Room Cozier

Having a comfy living room that speaks of a friendly and nice person has never been easier to achieve. There are a few small things you can do in order to make your living room look bigger and more pleasant. You don’t have to change too much, just redecorate a little and move things around a bit. I know it doesn’t seem likely but just try to imagine it’s possible and you will see how easily achievable it is. When people enter your living room, they will wonder how you manage to keep it so pleasant and clean, while in the same time comfy and cozy. Here are a few ideas.

Go for a minimalistic approach

There are times when less is more and when we are talking about the interior design of your living room, this is ever so apparent. People usually have the bad habit of leaving things lying around or stuffing the room with all sorts of different objects that don’t really belong there. If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that the less things you don’t need you have, the better the room actually looks. A few vases and pictures here and there are fine, but don’t go overboard with it. You don’t really need all that ornaments to make the room look aesthetically pleasing, while at the same time you can make the room look bigger by removing some of them. This seems like common sense but many people aren’t really following this advice.

Go for lighter colors

It’s been proven time and time again that warm colors, just like the name suggests, create a sense of warmth and comfort in your home. The more natural the colors look, the more familiar they look to us a subconscious level. Lighter colors create a sense that a room is bigger than it actually is and are much more likely to instill good mood and happiness than dark colors.

Dark colors will not only make the room seem smaller and darker, but they can also cause depression. That’s dungeons weren’t well-lit, light colored rooms but rather small and dark ones. The dark creates a sense of isolation, even when you are in a room full of people so make sure you avoid those tones at all cost.

Wooden furniture

Like I said, the more natural a color looks, the better it makes us feel. This is caused by the familiarity of certain colors and materials. In the thousands of years of human evolution, we have come to associate them with certain things. That’s why gray, metal-like post-modernistic furniture with interesting shapes and dark colors may look aesthetically pleasing in a picture, but it’s more likely to put you in a bad mood than anything else. On the other hand, wooden furniture looks much more familiar, also looks good and makes you feel warmer and safer. You and your guests will be in a better mood if your furnishings are made of wood or wood-like materials. The downside is that it might get damaged more easily, but if you properly care for it and regularly polish it like they recommend, it will look great and the risk of negative alterations will be minimized.

Books

Having books lying around can be beneficial on many levels. Studies have shown that children are more likely to become good students if the parents encourage them to read (encourage, not make!) and having lots of books in your house (that you actually read) is one of the best ways to do so. Children tend to imitate adults’ behavior so if you read, odds are your child will, too.

Also, books, for some reason, give the place a more cozy appearance so you can be sure your guests will appreciate it. Plus, it speaks well of you as a person that instead of stuffing the room with useless trinkets, you’re decorating it with books. Try it - it will make you feel better, too. It’s really calming having lots of books in your environment.